"Aquaman" tops North American box office for third weekend in a row

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Warner Bros.' "Aquaman" continued to lead North American box office with an estimated 30.7 million U.S. dollars for a third weekend in a row, pushing its North American total to 259.72 million dollars for a whopping global cume of 940.7 million dollars.

The superhero film has become the highest grossing worldwide release in the DC Extended Universe. Based on the DC Comics character of the same name, the film is the sixth installment in the DC Extended Universe.

The film, with a reported 200 million dollars of investment, reveals the origin story of half-human, half-Atlantean Arthur Curry. As the heir to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, Curry must step forward to lead his people against his half-brother who seeks to unite the seven underwater kingdoms against the surface world.

Directed by James Wan, the film stars Jason Momoa as the title role. "Momoa brings humor, charm and intensity to the role and in the process wins over a global audience," wrote movie analyst Paul Dergarabedian at measurement firm Comscore in an email to Xinhua.

Internationally, "Aquaman" pulled in another 56.2 million dollars over the weekend in 79 overseas markets, according to studio figures collected by Comscore.

As the first new wide release of 2019, Sony's psychological thriller "Escape Room" opened in second place with an estimated 18 million dollars in its debut weekend.

Directed by Adam Robitel, the film stars Logan Miller, Deborah Ann Woll, Taylor Russell, Tyler Labine, Jay Ellis, and Nik Dodani. The plot follows six strangers who find themselves in circumstances beyond their control and must use their wits to find the clues or die.

Disney's musical fantasy film "Mary Poppins Returns" came in third with an estimated 15.77 million dollars in its third weekend for a North American total of 138.72 million dollars. Based on the book series of the same name by P. L. Travers, the film is the follow-up to 1964's classic film "Mary Poppins." Directed by Rob Marshall, it stars Emily Blunt as the iconic nanny with unique magical skills.

Sony's superhero film "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" landed in fourth place with an estimated 13.01 million dollars in its fourth weekend. The animated film has earned 133.86 million dollars in North America. Based on the Marvel Comics character Miles Morales, the film follows teen Morales in a universe where more than one Spider-Man exists. Inspired by Spider-Man's sacrifice, Morales becomes one of many Spider-Men and must team up with the others to save New York City from a supervillain, the Kingpin.

Paramount's science fiction action film "Bumblebee" finished fifth with an estimated 12.77 million dollars in its third weekend for a North American total of 97.12 million dollars. The film is the sixth installment of the "Transformers" film series.